As we heard last week, Matt Harvey is embarking on a six-to-eight week throwing program to rehab his partially-torn elbow ligament rather than undergo Tommy John surgery. Interestingly, Mets general manager Sandy Alderson told Adam Rubin of ESPN New York today that he would like to see Harvey test himself in the prospect-rich Arizona Fall League as part of his rehab process. However, it’s unclear whether he’s actually eligible to do so.

“No players with more than one year of credited Major League service as of August 31 are eligible, except a team may select one player picked in the most recently concluded Major League Rule 5 Draft.”

Unless things have changed or there is some loophole that isn’t publicly known, this would seem to disqualify Harvey. Still, it’s clear the Mets want to see Harvey in some sort of competitive environment before a decision is made about surgery.

Buchholz, 33, was acquired by the Phillies from the Red Sox in December 2016, but he made only two starts before an MRI revealed he had a partial tear of his right flexor pronator mass. He underwent surgery in April and missed the rest of the season.